This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Conventionally, reclining articles of furniture (i.e., chairs, sofas, loveseats, and the like) require a mechanism to bias a leg rest assembly in the extended and stowed positions and to move a seat back member from an upright to a fully reclined position. Most reclining furniture members include an upholstered frame supported from a stationary base assembly. For example, known combination platform reclining chairs permit reclining movement of the seat assembly and actuation of the leg rest assembly independently of the seat back member. The leg rest assembly is operably coupled to a drive mechanism to permit the seat occupant to selectively move the leg rest assembly between its normally retracted (i.e., “stowed”) and elevated (i.e., “extended”) positions. The drive mechanism is manually-operated and includes a handle which, when rotated by the seat occupant, causes concurrent rotation of a drive rod for extending or retracting the leg rest assembly.
Furniture member mechanisms are known which suspend the mechanism from posts upwardly extending from a base frame using elongated linkage members so the mechanism and thereby the furniture member can “glide” forward and backward from a neutral position by force induced by the furniture member occupant. The gliding motion is distinct from “rocking” mechanisms in that in rocking mechanisms a biasing device or assembly on opposite sides of the furniture member positioned between a frame member and the mechanism directly supports the mechanism from below the mechanism. This substantially limits forward and rearward motion with respect to an axis of rotation defined by the biasing device. Because of the length of the supporting linkage members, the “glide” mechanism provides increased forward and rearward displacement compared to the rocking mechanism.